officials say the two promised to stay in touch but did not mention if they talked about the fiscal cliff. >>> that cliff was definitely the topic at other meetings in washington. timothy geithner met with congressional leader but did not reach any agreement. if no action is taken by december 31, $650 billion in cuts to pentagon and domestic programs and tax increases will automaticly go into effect. republicans are complaining. democrats are not playing fair. >> democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts. secondly, no substantive progress has been made in the talks between the white house and the house over the last two weeks. this is not a game. >> carolyn: joe biden went christmas shopping in the capitol at a discount store. he strolled into costco and buying apple pie. he told reporters falling o-cliff klif is not an option. >> look around here. consumer confidence is growing. last thing we need to do is dash that now by being unable to extend middle-class tax cuts. >> carolyn: costco is hedging. they announced they will pay $3 billion dividend before the end of the ye